Robert Portis, Author at The Fight City - Page 2 of 9The Fight City

Robert Portis

Browsing All Posts By Robert Portis

Boxiana 0
July 31, 1908: Ketchel vs Kelly

Alas, for so many of boxing’s truly great champions, precious little or no film exists of their exploits, but despite this, we possess solid evidence of their splendid ...
On July 31, 2019 / By Robert Portis
The Top Twelve 2
Top 12 All-Time Best Flyweights

We started with the middleweights, then the bantamweights, followed by the light heavyweights. Continuing our rankings of the greatest boxers in each of the original eight weight classes, ...
On July 28, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 1
July 25, 1902: Jeffries vs Fitzsimmons II

It is difficult to say how heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries would have matched up against more contemporary boxers, but there’s no doubt he was an extraordinary fighter. ...
On July 25, 2019 / By Robert Portis
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July 16, 1947: Zale vs Graziano II

In 1945 Rocky Graziano stood at the precipice of ruin. Just 26-years-old, with a record of 35-6-5, he had lost two matches in a row, two high profile defeats ...
On July 16, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 1
July 9, 1989: Rosario vs Jones

When we compare and rank boxers of the past, something all serious fight fans love to do, one of the key criteria is longevity. This has less to ...
On July 9, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 0
July 7, 1985: Chavez vs Mayweather I

It’s 1985 and everyone south of the border already knows who the next great Mexican boxer will be. The only problem is pretty much no one north of ...
On July 7, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 1
July 6, 1979: Gonzalez vs Oguma IV

The career of Betulio Gonzalez, which should be enshrined in the Hall of Fame but for reasons unknown is not, featured numerous clashes with various champions, but was ...
On July 6, 2019 / By Robert Portis
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June 29, 1942: Charles vs Burley II

No one knowledgeable about the long history of prizefighting doubts the standing of Charley Burley. The man was so good even Sugar Ray Robinson avoided him. And no ...
On June 29, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 1
June 22, 1938: Louis-Schmeling II

Former world champion Max Schmeling was a solid 10-to-1 underdog when he faced rising contender and awesome knockout artist Joe Louis in a major heavyweight showdown in June ...
On June 22, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 5
June 18, 1941: Louis vs Conn I

It is 1941 and while some say death and taxes are the only sure things in life, American sports fans know different. There exists a third certainty: Joe Louis ...
On June 18, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 0
June 12, 1989: Hearns vs Leonard II

Their first meeting in 1981, one of the biggest fights in boxing history, was called “The Showdown,” an appellation which made sense given that each held one of ...
On June 12, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 2
Fight City Legends: The Smoke City Wildcat

They called them the Roaring Twenties, that crazy decade following World War I when the economy boomed, “speakeasies” opened on every other corner, the “flappers” started showing a ...
On June 6, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 0
May 25, 1980: Cooney vs Young

“I’m going to win this fight, going to win it big. I’ve trained hard for this and I’ve got it all together. I hear this Cooney kid is ...
On May 25, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Features 0
Happy Birthday To Marvelous Marvin Hagler

It’s the birthday of “The Marvelous One,” an all-time great middleweight champion who, for close to a full decade, was part of any discussion about the best fighter ...
On May 23, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Columns 0
It’s Your Move, Bud!

If we say it too loudly we might just jinx it, but we have to give credit where it’s due: Al Haymon’s PBC at long last figured out ...
On May 17, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 0
May 8, 1982: Mancini vs Frias

By this time all of America knew the Ray Mancini story; precious few knew the tale of Arturo Frias. While “Boom Boom” Mancini was something out of a ...
On May 8, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 3
May 5, 1973: Jofre vs Legra

Boxing comebacks are usually a bad idea. Boxing comebacks involving former world champions over the age of 35 are, George Foreman notwithstanding, almost always a terrible idea. But ...
On May 6, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Columns 4
Canelo vs Jacobs: Praying For A Miracle

There are journalists and there are fans. I periodically write about boxing, but I don’t claim to be a serious reporter and I hope I never do. You ...
On May 3, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Features 0
Canelo vs Jacobs: The Fight City Picks

We’re almost half-way through 2019 and boxing fans can pretty much count on one hand the number of truly compelling, high-profile and legitimate best-vs-best contests we’ve been able ...
On May 2, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Columns 0
Rungvisai vs Estrada II: Unfinished Business

This Friday, fourteen months after their first fight, Thailand’s prodigal son, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, and Mexico’s own Juan Francisco “Gallito” Estrada, will meet again to settle some unfinished ...
On April 23, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 1
April 20, 1960: Fullmer vs Giardello

As most boxing fans know, they made a movie about wrongly imprisoned middleweight contender Rubin “Hurricane” Carter with Denzel Washington in the leading role. And while no doubt ...
On April 20, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 0
April 16, 1952: Robinson vs Graziano

Sometimes match-ups that appear obvious, can’t-miss attractions, just don’t happen for whatever reason. Such was the case with Sugar Ray Robinson and Rocky Graziano. Both were based in ...
On April 16, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 0
April 15, 1985: Hagler vs Hearns

Hagler vs Hearns. Next to The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, maybe the most famous boxing match in middleweight history. Billed as simply “The Fight,” what is there to ...
On April 15, 2019 / By Robert Portis
The Top Twelve 15
Top 12 All-Time Greatest Middleweights

The middleweights have traditionally been regarded as one of the sport’s true “glamour” divisions, boasting some of the best talent to ever lace ’em up and some of ...
On April 12, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 0
April 11, 1981: Holmes vs Berbick

In 1981 few doubted that Larry Holmes was one of the best boxers in the world, but rarely had the holder of the most coveted prize in all ...
On April 11, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Columns 6
The Portis Pound-For-Pound

The other week Max Kellerman, currently pugilism’s premier talking head, released his new, updated pound-for-pound rankings and it sent all the hardcore boxing geeks into a tizzy. For ...
On April 6, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 0
March 19, 1983: McCrory vs Jones I

In the late 70’s and early 80’s professional prizefighting was enjoying a serious resurgence with major stars such as Hearns, Hagler, Mancini, Duran, Arguello and Holmes inspiring keen ...
On March 19, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 0
March 2, 1980: Kenty vs Espana

After decades of decline, Detroit, Michigan, attempted to reverse the years of stagnation and neglect and reassert itself in the late 70s as one of America’s great cities. A ...
On March 2, 2019 / By Robert Portis
The Fight City 0
Big Wins For Theroux And ‘Free Boy’

It’s only February but already 2019 is proving to be an outstanding year for fisticuffs at the Cabaret Room in the Casino de Montreal with a couple of ...
On February 17, 2019 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 0
Feb. 15, 1982: Leonard vs Finch

It is 1982 and Sugar Ray Leonard is the king of not only the welterweight division, but of the entire sport of boxing. No other fighter is as ...
On February 15, 2019 / By Robert Portis

The Fight City

Montreal is The Fight City. Known in years past as "Sin City" and "Babylon on the St. Lawrence", it saw more than its share of ring legends over the decades. A metropolis where hundreds of young warriors train and battle each day in its many gyms, it is where Archie Moore, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Bernard Hopkins all found greatness. It is a city of fights and fighters, of hockey and heroes, of broken dreams and immortal glory, a city unlike any other. Montreal is The Fight City.

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